PC: Iwatooshi

[sootprints]

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Weekend 0, Saturday

[sootprints]

[ standing in the refectory, looking at the set tables as smoke rises from her head. she's dressed in regular clothes now, no longer hiding her lack of a face. ]

This won't do. There must be another option...

[naginota]

[ kate is so cute i love her. iwa's also got his normal clothes, and a naginata in hand. he's being very careful to navigate indoors with it. ]

Is it not what you were expecting?

[sootprints]

It's suspicious. There's food prepared for us, but no sign of who is making it or how.

Have you tried eating it, by any chance?

Week 0, Monday

[sootprints]

[ at some point on monday, kate will find iwatooshi outside! ]

Oh, Iwatooshi. I acquired something that may work for self-defense, if your offer of a lesson still stands.

[ she tries not to draw attention to it, but along one of her shins is a word in white lettering: FALSE. ]

[naginota]

Ohh, already? Good, good! Show me what you've chosen. I'll teach you what I can.

[ he doesn't seem to have noticed the word yet - luckily for kate, the difference in their height might make it a little easier to hide for now. and in contrast, iwatooshi isn't even trying to hide his own tattoo. it's right in full view, where the robes bare his right arm: nonexistence. ]

[sootprints]

[ the cool thing about having no face is no one can tell if you're reading their spooky arm-words. maybe she did, maybe she didn't!

anyway, she reaches into the folds of her dress, which is about a gazillion victorian layers, and pulls out... a knife! it's just a regular kitchen knife. not even great quality. but hey! knife. ]

Week 0, Friday

[sootprints]

[ Over by the pyre, there is a second, smaller, darker stream of smoke rising up into the air...

And beneath that, Kate can be found standing by the bulletin board, looking at these two posters. The smoke is coming, of course, from her head, as she gazes silently at them. ]

[naginota]

[ he watches the smoke with vague curiosity for a moment, but now isn't the time to ask about that. he will simply join her by the bulletin board. ]

The overseers were right to be cautious, it seems. This cult must have targeted them both.

[sootprints]

If they were targeted, then... did the cult find out they were trying to help us? Have we already failed?

Week 0, Saturday

[sootprints]

[ After the trial, Kate walked very quickly away from the pyre and ducked behind a building. Maybe it's the one Iwatooshi's staying at. Or he just happened to turn the same corner...

Here, she has her back pressed to the wall and her hands against her chest. She takes slow, deep breaths, one after another, like she's trying to regulate herself. ]

[naginota]

[ oh. when he sees this, he immediately heads over in concern, pausing just far enough to ensure kate isn't startled. ]

Kate-dono, are you alright?

[ has the stress of the day gotten to her, or is she actually unwell? ]

week 1, monday

[naginota]

[ i hope kate is ready to be pulled into a tight hug on sight because that's what is going to happen! after giving her a nice little spin, he'll carefully set her back down with a bright grin. ]

This place is like a breath of fresh air, isn't it?! Gahahaha!

[ he's got a different outfit today, too! just a plain, purple kimono with the sleeves tied back. ]

[sootprints]

[ she is hugged! she looks a bit like a cat that's been picked up by the scruff and forgot how to move its limbs. and she has also obtained a new set of clothes! ]

Oh! Um, yes! Compared to that dreary village...

Week 1, Friday

[sootprints]

[ wow! what a lineup today!

if iwatooshi checked the bulletin, he may have noticed a trail of dark soot on the ground that leads away from there... to a thin, dark cloud of smoke hanging over the cemetery. sitting on the ground between the worn gravestones is a familiar shadow. as always, her face is unreadable.

she seems almost still and lifeless, merely sitting there without moving or making a sound. until finally... ]

... Is someone there?

[ she turns her head to look through the haze at iwatooshi. ]

[naginota]

Just this Iwatooshi, Kate-dono.

[ as much as he'd like to give people their personal space, it's still affection week. so he'll just come and sit near her, wordlessly offering a hand to hold. ]

Week 1, Sunday

[sootprints]

[ somewhere outdoors after the execution ritual, just reflecting on what they just watched. ]

She was able to hold on to some part of herself...

... and yet, it still ended that way...

[naginota]

I was surprised that she did, after how Hill-dono acted last week.... But she was clever, to do what she did.

[ imagine being trapped inside your own body like that? oof. ]

If we knew another way to help her or anyone else in her position, we'd use it.

[ iwa doesn't doubt that for a second, but it doesn't matter much when they don't have a choice. ]

Week 2, Monday

[sootprints]

[ hello iwatooshi, it's a lovely day to be unceremoniously yanked into a memory-void!

they see a memory of kate's childhood. ]

[naginota]

[ i'm sorry, pregnant for 50 years? FIFTY YEARS?????? MY GOD.

but ohhhhh kate. sweet kate. he kind of wants to pull her into a hug again, because some of this is so familiar, and nothing hurts more than watching someone you care about suffer like this. ]

She must have worried about you. [ her grandmother. ] It hasn't been long since you left, has it? You did say you were still looking for a place to belong, didn't you?

Week 6, Monday

[sootprints]

[ let's say they're exploring the area together. there's a lot that kate hasn't seen yet. ]

I feel like there's so much we should catch up on... It's been a while.

[naginota]

[ hello, kate. he's got ears under his hood today, apparently, but iwatooshi isn't letting that ruin his day. it's a beautiful day in elysium! ]

Almost a full month now! It's hard to believe, isn't it? It feels like only yesterday that I was asking what you wanted to do.

Week 6, Thursday

[sootprints]

[ I HOPE HE'S RECOVERING SOMEWHERE. kate is also looking for a place to sit and recover, probably. she's wearing a cloak with a big hole in the left side, stained with black on its edges. ]

Ah... I heard that something happened to you as well. May I join you...?

[naginota]

[ IWA IS REALLY JUST VIBING WHILE LUCAS HAPPENS. he's been healed and cleaned of blood so really he's just. around. they can sit somewhere and chill.

he's already changed into a yukata post-healing, but noticeably, he's still glowing a faint blue, his eyes are a vibrant green for some reason, and his hands and forearms seem to be covered in black scales. that's probably fine. ]

Of course, Kate-dono. But if mew need healing, mew shouldn't delay fur too long. Are you alright?

Week 7, Tuesday

[sootprints]

[ hanging around the morning after our town hall. ]

... It's not easy to find a way to make everyone happy, is it?

[ she's clearly still mulling all of our choices over. ]

[naginota]

It never is, no. Everyone has different things that they want or need, and these are big decisions. With so few resources at our disposal, we'll just have to try our best to do as much as we can.

[ ...he smiles. ]

But we're making good progress toward that already, aren't we? Just by discussing and figuring out what the costs may be.